Now available: Part 3 of Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas with Jonathan Biss
PHILADELPHIA—January 24, 2018—The Curtis Institute of Music and Jonathan Biss have launched Part 3 of the popular online course Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, available now on Coursera. Free and available on demand, the new lectures are the latest in a series offering an in-depth look into the Beethoven piano sonatas from a performer’s point of view. Jonathan Biss is an alumnus and a member of the piano faculty at Curtis, where he holds the Neubauer Family Chair in Piano Studies.
Curtis was the first conservatory to offer a massive open online course (MOOC) on Coursera. Since the course launched in 2013, it has reached a global music community of more than 150,000 people in 185 countries.
What began as a broad overview of all the sonatas and their place in musical history has evolved into a closer look at each individual sonata. In Part 3, Jonathan Biss addresses piano sonatas No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10, No. 1; No. 11 in B-flat major, Op. 22; No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2 (“The Tempest”); No. 24 in F-sharp major, Op. 78; No. 25 in G major, Op. 79, and No. 26 in E-flat major, Op. 81a (“Les Adieux” or “Lebewohl”). Each lecture includes examples on the keyboard and in-depth historical and theoretical analysis of the major musical developments represented by each sonata. The new additions to the Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas series in Part 3 are made possible by the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation.
Access the courses:
Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
The Curtis Institute of Music educates and trains exceptionally gifted young musicians to engage a local and global community through the highest level of artistry. One of the most selective schools in the United States, Curtis accepts four percent of applicants each year on average. A tuition-free policy ensures that talent and artistic promise are the only considerations for admission. With a small student body of about 175, Curtis provides each young musician with an education of unparalleled quality, distinguished by personalized attention from a celebrated faculty and a “learn by doing” philosophy. Curtis students hone their craft through than 200 orchestra, opera, and solo and chamber music offerings each year in Philadelphia and around the world.
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